[lehighguy]

Think of it like poker and it all makes sense. If you opponent knows that you can't go all-in he will go all-in every hand. Even with complete crap, even when he is totally out of line. As long as he knows you won't go all the way (which is what the strike legislation says) he will bully you around all day with impunity.

You don't know if thier demands are unreasonable. You don't know thier working conditions. You don't know how long it has been since they got a pay increase. Let's break it down:
If the MTA gives you a 4%/year pay increase, but makes you start paying 6% of your income into pension, you just took a 2% paycut. Not factoring in inflation. If they haven't gotten a raise in awhile, then inflation is like getting a paycut. Maybe they switched to a new health plan that the workers don't like. Maybe they change retirement rules. Do I know the specifics of thier contracts, no. That is the whole point. None of us really know except for random excerpts we read in the paper. And have even less of a clue about working conditions. You don't deserve to have an opinion on the fairness of the contract, your just running your mouth.

Only two people deserve to have an opinion, the union and the MTA. Imposing unfathomable penalties on one side distorts the whole process. And just because you aren't throwing people in jail doesn't mean you aren't destroying thier lives. At $25,000/day, how long until those transit workers are thrown out of thier homes. When I quit my job I wasn't charged $25,000/day, why should they?